


The Arrangement

by TheLadySif



Series: The Warrior Princess and the Court Mage [2]
Category: Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Ice puns, Jotunn | Frost Giant, Loki Needs a Hug, Mystery, Parent Frigga, Poor Loki, Portals, Sif is not happy, Sneaky Frigga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-01-04 19:11:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1084690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadySif/pseuds/TheLadySif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Upon hearing about her parent's decision to marry her off, the Princess of Asgard enlists the court mage's help on a quest  to prevent her arranged marriage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Margo_Kim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Margo_Kim/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless ice jokes ahead.

**Several Thousand Years Ago**

There was screaming and blood. He had never seen this much blood before. It tainted the streets, ran down the pillars, painted the faces of his warriors. Gods, he didn't recognize this place anymore there was so much blood. Someone grabbed his shoulder and he raised his knife to defend himself. "My king! It's me. It's Vasad." He lowered his knife slowly. "My king, they've destroyed everything. We've lost so many of our warriors. The queen has fallen. What are we to do?" 

"Vasad, stay calm." The King told him quietly. "We'll go get my son, give them what they're demanding, and then we will gather the remaining people, and leave this wretched place." Vasad nodded slowly.

"I saw so many killed before my eyes, my king. I wish this war would just end." Vasad told him.

"It will end." The King answered. "One way or another, this war will end." The King and Vasad began to head off in search of the King's son. The two headed off down a secret passage that twisted beneath the palace.

"You're bleeding." Vasad commented. "it's getting darker."

"I'll heal." The King replied. "It's always dark before the dawn." A small blue light appeared in his hand and brightened up the dark passageway. They stayed quiet as they heard footsteps above them and continued to move silently. 

 _"Quick! Go that way!"_   The voices above them ordered.

" _The Casket of Winters is ours!"_ Another yelled back.

Vasad's eyes widen and he turned toward the King. "Sire-" 

"Let them take it." The King responded as he pulled open a door. The two of them stepped into the room and looked around. "He's gone." The King whispered, still looking around the room. "They took him! They took my son!"

Vasad stood quietly, looking at the floor. "Sire..." The king looked to Vasad who was pointing toward the floor. He followed Vasad's gaze and saw blood on the floor.

The King clenched his jaw. "They've killed him. They killed my son." He turned and stormed out off the room. "They will pay for what they have done!" He yelled and Vasad followed him quickly. The King attacked the men who ran at him, impaled them with his sword. A catch of gold caught Vasad's eyes and he quickly jumped in front of the blast that was meant for the King. Vasad went scattering into tiny pieces of ash and the King turned toward Vasad's attacker.

"Your source of power has been taken from you." Red eyes glared at blue eyes. A weapon was pointed at the throat of Laufey. Laufey's arm turned to ice slowly. "We can reach a truce. There can be peace between our lands. Your people won't have to suffer anymore."

* * *

**2467 Years Ago**

Loki stood on his tiptoes to try to grab a book off the shelf above him. He struggled as his fingers caould barely touch the shelf, let alone reach for the book upon it. He jumped but the book slipped from his grasp. He was about to jump for it again when a hand grabbed the book and handed it to him. Loki looked up at the hand's owner.

"Thank you, Queen Frigga." Loki said politely, bowing before her. His long hair covered up half of his face as he did so.

Frigga gave a small chuckle. "You're quite welcome, little Loki." Loki smiled and felt his cheeks grow a tad warmer than usual. He stood up straight before her upon her request. "What are you reading about today?" She asked him.

"Dwarves." Loki answered quietly. "They're fantastic workers. They combine magic with the objects they create. I read about a dwarf named Andvari the other day. He created a ring that can make its own gold. He calls it  _Andvaranaut_ , or Andvari's Gift."

"That is quite fascinating." Frigga smiled back at him.

"There are a lot of fascinating subjects in these books. I spend hours here just reading about a small part of one subject alone." Loki told her as he ran his hand over the cover of the book in his hand.

She sat down in one of the chairs close by. "How are you faring? You haven't looked too well these past couple of days."

"I always get sick in the summer." Loki mumbled. Frigga gestured to the chair beside her and Loki sat down in the chair. "Eir calls it the Heat Sickness. There are a few Asgardians that get it but not as often as I do." Frigga pushed back his hair so it was out of his face and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. Loki stared at her.

"You are unusually warm but an hour or two spent in the pool should make you feel much better. You're welcome to use it anytime you'd like." She told him before removing her hand.

"Thank you." Loki murmured. "However, Prince Thor and Princess Sif are always occupying the pool. It's best that I stay away. I wouldn't want them to catch my Heat Sickness."

"I think they'll be perfectly fine if you played with them." Frigga told him. "I don't see you playing with others at all."

"No one asks me to play with them." Loki whispered.'

"Why don't you ask them?" Frigga suggested.

Loki began to trace the patterns on the book cover, his hair fell back in front of his face. "I have and they all run away."

"I can talk to Thor and Sif-" Frigga began to say but Loki shook his head.

"No! I- I mean, no. It's not necessary. I don't want to play with them either." He interrupted her. "My Heat Sickness is getting worse. I wouldn't want them to catch anything. I've got new symptoms that Eir has been trying to figure out." He rolled up his sleeve and showed her the blue markings that curled about his skin in strange patterns. "They've spread from my feet to my torso to my arms. They appear during Autumn and are gone by Yule." Loki explained.

Frigga stared at the markings until Loki covered them up beneath his sleeve. "Loki-"

"THey don't itch or bother me much." Loki continued as he rolled his sleeve down. "I just thought I should cover them so that the others won't stare and whisper at me more. I've seen some of the warriors staring at me too. Eir says that they knew my parents during the war."

"Can I tell you something?" Frigga asked Loki and he nodded. "If Odin wasn't such a stubborn fool, you wouldn't be an orphan. I would take in you and raise you as my son." Frigga told him.

Loki lifted his head and looked over at her. "You would?"

"I would." Frigga confirmed. "I think you would be the best son that I have ever had. Just don't tell that to Thor." Frigga said with a small smile and a wink.

"What's it like?" Loki asked her. "To belong somewhere. To have a family, I mean. What does it feel like?"

Frigga laid a hand upon Loki's shoulder. "You will find out soon enough. Just be patient." She stood up. "I will see you again, little one." Frigga turned and began to walk away but stopped and looked back at him. "You have very nice eyes. You shouldn't hide them behind your hair." She said before walking out of the library.

"Yes, Queen Frigga." Loki reached up and pushed all his hair away from his face. He looked to his book before staring at the door and whispering under his breath, "Yes, _Mother_."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Eir! He fainted!" Dagny screamed at the top of her lungs. Eir lifted her head and looke dover at Dagny sprinting into the healing chambers. "Loki fainted again!" The poor boy was in her arms and she set him down carefully onto one of the examining tables.

Eir hurried over to the both of them and placed her hand upon Loki's head. "Heat Sickness." Eir urmured to herself. She looked up at Dagny. "Fetch me a pitcher of cold water. The poor boy is overheated." She smoothed back his hair as she spoke. Dagny ran off to grab the water and quickly returned. Eir took the pitcher from her and looked to Loki. "I'm sorry." She said before dumping the pitcher of water on his face. Loki awoke promptly sitting up, coughing, and spitting out water. When the water cleared out of his lungs, he took several deep breaths of air. "You fainted again." Eir told him. Loki began to climb off the table but Eir stopped him. "It's getting worse, Loki."

"I'll stick to the shade and stay out the sun." Loki mumbled.

Eir shook her head. "It's not just that. Your markings have spread."

"All the markings are covered. No one can see them." Loki assured her.

Eir grabbed his hands. "They've spread to  your hands, Loki. Then, they'll be upon your face. You have to find other ways to hide them."

Loki looked at the markings on his hands. "Why can't you cure me?" Eir released his hands slowly. "Why can't you make them go away forever?"

"It's complicated-" Eir began.

"How? Why? What are they? Why am I the only one with them?" Loki questioned.

"We don't know what they are. It was just something you were born with. I wish I could get rid of them for you." Eir said softly. "I truly mean that but it looks like there's nothing we can do for now."

Loki curled his hands into a ball of fists. "I don't want to hide them. I want to play with the others. I want to have friends. I don't want to be alone anymore."

"I know it's hard to have to hide, Loki, but you won't alwayas be alone. Everything happens for a reason." Eir told him.

"I don't care!" Loki yelled, slamming his fists down on the table. "I want to be normal!" I want to be like them! I can be like them if you would just let me!" Eir stared with worried wide eyes at his hands. They simply rested upon the table but what was happening beneath them was an entirely different matter. One that was far from simple. Loki followed her gaze and clenched his jaw immediately. Ice had begun forming and spreading to the table beneath his hands. He pulled them away from the table but the ice remained.

"Loki-" Eir was about to say something but Loki stopped her quickly.

"Another symptom." He snapped, "Followed by another symptom and another. This will never end until I am cured!"

"It's not that bad-" Eir began, pity and worry framing her face.

"Don't pity me!" Loki exclaimed, jumping off the table. "I don't want or need your pity! I need a cure! I will spend every single day in the library, searching for a cure to my condition until one is found. I will make a cure if I have to!" He yelled as he stormed out of the room angrily.

* * *

**Present Day:**

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Sif yelled at the top of her lungs.

Frigga gave her a pitied-filled look. "Darling, I understand that it may be hard to accept, even difficult to fully understand-"

"I understand perfectly!" Sif snapped back. "How could you ever think it was a good idea!? Why can't it be Thor?! Why me!?"

"Sif,  _please_." Frigga said as Sif began to pace about the room. Every step of her foot was an angry stomp against the decision that her mother had made for her. ""Your father and I think this is the best thing to for Asgard. It's best for all the Nine Realms."

"Don't give me that 'It's best for the Nine Realms' lecture!" Sif growled, crossing her arms as she still paced back and forth. "I should have been a part of this decision! I am a grown woman! I can make my own choices!"

"Like that little happenstance on Nidavellir?!" Frigga asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That was not my fault! It was Loki's! How was I supposed to know that he was going to start a civil war?!" Sif asked rhetorically and Frigga sighed. "I was only focused on getting back Thor and the Warriors Three before that stupid court  _jester_  could cause a war between Asgard and Nidavellir!"

"Sif! What have I said about calling him that?" Frigga scolded her.

"He's a nightmare! He has no friends whatsoever. He has no pratical mind. He spends all his time alone in the library, pouring over countless books and studying about useless seidr!" Sif ranted on until Frigga stepped froward. She grabbed Sif by her ear. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Let go. Please let go. Mother please." Sif whined pathetically as Frigga pinched her ear between her thumb and forefinger.

"Our decision is final. Do you understand?" Frigga asked her daughter. Sif nodded slowly. "Good. Because of your behavior, you are now grounded from the training grounds for a week-" Sif opened her mouth to protest but Frigga pinched her ear tighter. "-and during this time,  _you_  will be in the library, studying about seidr. I expect a paper from you by the end of the week on how seidr is useful." Sif let out a small whimper as she tried to pull herself away from the awful pinching. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Very. Very clear." Sif answered, still trying to pull herself away.

"You better or you will have an even worse punishment." Frigga warned, letting go of her ear.

Sif sighed in relief, stepping away from her mother, and rubbed her aching ear. "My god, how does that still bring so much pain after all these years?"

"Because that is what it is supposed to do." Frigga answered.

Sif gave her mother a pointed look, "It's not fair."

"It isn't supposed to be." Frigga walked back to her vanity and sat down in the chair.

"I mean the  _Arrangement._  Thor could do it just as easily as I could. He's almost of age." Sif pointed out.

"Darling, everything will be alright. An arranged marriage isn't the end of the world." Frigga argued. "My marriage was arranged and I came to love your father over time. You will too."

"You were being married off to the future king of Asgard. I, on the other hand, am being married off to some mysterious Prince of Jotunheim." Sif countered quickly. "One that I never heard of or have even seen during my visits there..." Frigga gave Sif a look. "...not that I've been there. It's as if he doesn't exist."

"He exists, Sif." Frigga assured her. "He exists."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

She was angry. She was very very angry. Loki could see it from a mile away how angry she was. It showed in the way she stood, in the emotions on her face, the way she fought, etc. Loki had once sat on the sidelines of the training yard in secret and watched her take down opponent after opponent in an attempt to release all of her anger. He could tell the others were not trying their hardest and he could clearly see why. Sif was intimidating herself but the fact that she was a Warrior as well as a Princess, only made her more intimdating. The fact that she was pissed beyond all reason didn't help.

And now, a very very pissed off Sif was walking toward him. She was here in the library, in what he secretly liked to call his personal sanctuary from all the intense warrior training and what not. She sat herself down with a loud thump in the chair that was across from him. The chair creaked as she pulled it forward and set her hands upon the desk that separated them.

"Here's the deal, Loki-" She spat his name out as if it was a horrible curse word, "-you are going to write a paper for my mother with details on how seidr is useful-" Loki slowly looked up at her from over his book, "-and in return, I will never come back to this vile place that you seem to thoroughly enjoy being in. As a bonus, I will not burn all the books in this room."

Loki looked back down at the pages of his book, "Your mother already approached me. She said I was not allowed to write your paper. She pinched my ear and made me promise not to. If I don't keep my promise, she threatened to sew my lips together with golden thread."

Sif sighed angrily and sat back in her chair. Loki pushed the pile of books toward her across the desk. The books had small pieces of paper coming out of the pages.

"However, your mother never said anything about giving you all the information you need or having that informaiton listed in order so that the paper basically writes itself." Loki continued and Sif stared at Loki with an unreadable expression. Loki glanced up at her and then returned his eyes to his book. "You're welcome. Think of it as a wedding gift. Your mother told me about that as well."

Sif groaned and let her head fall against the desk with a loud thump. "My mother is ruining my life."

"That's what it looks like, Princess." Loki commented and turned the page of his book.

"Can someone just kill me now?" Sif murmured to herself but Loki heard her.

"I'm sure the two of you will make quite the couple with your matching murderous glares." Loki responded.

Sif lifted her head to shoot him a glare. "If looks could kill, you would be first."

"Quite the icy demeanor you have today. I'm sure your fiance will love it." Loki asked her with a smirk.

"Aha. Very funny." Sif said in a monotone voice.

"You'll probably just give him the cold shoulder." Loki continued. "That is if you don't get cold feet on your wedding day."

Sif's eyes narrowed further at him. "I hate you so much."

"I'm just trying to break the ice, Princess." Loki replied nonchalantly. "Instead, it appears as if I'm skating on thin ice."

"Keep it up, court  _jester_." Sif mockingly encouraged. "I can start burning books anytime I like."

"They're not  _my_  books." Loki responded, placing a bookmark in his book and closing it. He set it upon the table and stared at Sif. "Think of it as a service to the realm. You're uniting two kingdoms, bringing about eternal peace. You barely even have to spend time with this Prince you're marrying. You'll be here in Asgard and he'll be there in Jotunheim."

"I don't want to marry him. I don't want to be married to a monster. I'm fine as I am." Sif snapped at him. "I want out of this arrangement that my parents have set up for me."

"Do you truly mean that?" Loki asked her, leaning forward across the desk. "What would you do to get out of it?"

"I would do anything. If it wouldn't cause a war, I'd go to Jotunheim, find him, and kill him before I would even warm up to the ridiculous idea of marrying a Frost Giant." Sif answered.

"Well, we don't have to kill him but we can try to talk him about maybe convincing his father not to go through with the arrangement." Loki pointed out, leaning back in his chair to relax.

Sif crossed her arms across her chest. "A journey to Jotunheim. You're kidding. My parents would see the Bifrost's activation and then we would be forced to come home."

Loki opened up the book that Sif had grabbed from the pile and opened up to a specific page that was marked. "Who said anything about using the Bifrost?" Loki asked with a smirk.

Sif tilted her head forward and read the title of the chapter he had opened to. " _The paths between Yggdrasil and how to navigate them_." Sif read out loud. She looked up at Loki. "What of Heimdall? He sees everything."

"My magic keeps us from his sight right now and will for the entire our quest on Jotunheim." Loki answered, rolling his eyes. "You really need to read these books, Princess. Seidr is vvery useful." Sif raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "How soon can you pack for Jotunheim?"

"I can be ready to go in an hour." Sif answered.

"Start packing, Princess." Loki stood up and closed the book as he did so. "We leave at sunset after supper."

"Just you and me on a mission to Jotunheim..." Sif said to him with a look.

"I think it would be best. Besides, the last time we went somewhere with your brother and his friends, they started a civil war." Loki commented and it was Sif's turn to roll her eyes. "We'll just keep this little mission between you and me."

"What do you get ot of this little mission?" Sif asked Loki as he started heading towards the door. Loki stopped at the doorway and looked back at her. "What? Am I not allowed to ask?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, Princess." Loki told her softly before turning and leaving Sif alone in the library. 


	2. A Most Dangerous Idea

Sif took a deep breath as she watched the others spar from the balcony. She would be leaving soon with Loki to go to Jotunheim and was very much suspicious of his reason for going along with her. They clearly weren't friends, barely were they even acquaintances from the very few trips that Loki had gone on with her and the others- that she blamed on her parents. Her mother and father insisted that Loki accompany them on their trips. Loki claimed to have volunteered to protect her but surely that couldn't be his _only_ reason to accompany her/them.

Sif did not trust him. He was left on his own far too often and he seemed to have no friends at all. Perhaps, he was keeping some terrifying secret to himself that kept everyone else away from him. _What could it be?_ Sif wondered silently to herself. _Perhaps, Father knows._ Sif turned away from the balcony and headed off to find Odin. She paused in her approach to seek out her father. She could hear his voice and her mother's coming from one of the antechambers ahead of her.

"-and once again, she is being defiant." Odin said to Frigga. Sif inched closer to the door without making a sound to hear their conversation much more clearly. "This is why I told you not to allow her to attend training sessions."

"She's capable of knowing what she wants and making her own decisions. She desires to protect the realms. Must I remind that it is a lesson we were trying to teach to our children from an early age." Frigga argued back. "She does want to protect the realm but Sif just wants to do it in her own way."

"With this arrangement, she can protect the realms." Odin told her. Sif closed her eyes. She knew what they were saying was true... By connecting Jotunheim and Asgard, there would be a alliance and peace between the two realms that could potentially unite all the realms. "It is time for her to put aside her sword and take her place as a proper Princess! You and I made the decision from the moment she was born. She will marry the Prince and that is final."

"She understands why the arrangement is needed, Odin, but she needs time to accept it. We must give her time to accept her fate." Frigga said softly. "You cannot ask her to be accepting of what she must do in nine days." Sif held her breath. _Nine days!? They had planned for the wedding to be in the next nine days?!_ "Besides, we must also deal with the other half of the arrangement. It will most certainly be a great shock to him."

"We will speak to the Prince tonight and explain everything." Odin answered. Sif inched closer to the entryway to listen to the conversation. "It is past time that he should have been informed."

"I thought he should have been told back when this all began." Frigga sighed. "He's gone through the most difficult struggles that one could imagine and he's survived."

Sif's boot squeaked loudly against the floor and she winced. She stayed still for a moment, hoping that the noise had gone unnoticed. However, Sif ended up quietly cursing the stars under her breath as her mother walked over to the entryway and pulled her into the antechamber by her ear. She avoided eye contact with both of her parents.

"What do you think you were doing?" Her mother inquired.

"I had to come to ask a few questions when I noticed you both were in a conversation. I thought it would be polite to not interrupt the two of you." Sif answered, finally looking at both of her parents.

"It is polite to not interrupt an important conversation but you would have been even more polite had you not been eavesdropping from the doorway." Frigga remarked sharply to her.

"Would you have preferred I interrupted your extremely private conversation or-?" Sif began to remark but Odin stopped their argument quite effectively.

"Enough!" Odin yelled loudly and Sif and Frigga went quietly immediately. "Hand over your sword and shield, Sif."

"What?!" Sif stared at him in disbelief. "You can't-" Odin gave her a hard look. "Mother, please." She bit her lip and looked to her mother with pleading eyes not to let such a thing happen.

"Sif, do as your told." Frigga said quietly, folding her hands in front of her.

She held out her sword and shield for her father take, trying desperately to not to break down into tears. "It is time for you to start acting like the Princess that you are. You will marry the Prince of Jotunheim and that is final." Sif turned on her heel and stormed away from her parents, wiping at the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

Sif ended up sitting impatiently in the library as she waited for Loki to arrive. There was no way that she would wait around for nine days and allow herself to be sold off to a Frost Giant _especially_ not after they took away her sword and shield from her. No, she was going to Jotunheim so that she could find some way out of this silly arranged marriage she was in. If getting out of the arrangement meant that she would have to deal with Loki for a while, then she would have to suffer through it to the best of her ability. She was sure that this trip to Jotunheim would take quite a few days and she had made certain no one would go looking for her in her absence. So now she sat waiting for Loki to arrive and he was quite late in her mind.

He was due to arrive at any moment and she was becoming very irritated very quickly. "My lady, how long have you have been waiting?" A voice beside her asked suddenly, making her jump out of her seat. She glared at Loki, a small smirk upon his face.

"I've been waiting long enough. You are late," Sif chided and Loki chuckled.

"I've been here for quite some time. You just did not look hard enough for me, Sif," Loki responded casually. "Are you ready to head to Jotunheim? You haven't brought any supplies."

"You said we would leave at sunset and it is not sunset yet. We'll be stopping by my room before we depart and I will have to steal something back from my father." Sif answered as she turned and headed for the door.

"Do you mean your sword and shield, Princess?" Loki clarified and she gave him a look over her shoulder. "Well, luckily, that has been taken care of." He pulled both her sword and shield out from behind his back. She stood there with her mouth agape for a moment before she grabbed them from him. "A magician never reveals his secrets and no thank you is required, Princess."

Sif eyed him suspiciously. "A very long time will pass before you get a thank you from me." The two of them stood there in silence. "We still have to head to my room to grab our supplies."

"Don't you think we had better get a move on then?" Loki said as the two of them walked out of the library. Loki looked around the corridors carefully as they headed to Sif's room. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as his magic changed him into one of the Einjhar. "I assume it would be less conspicuous for you to be seen with an Einjhar than for you to be seen with me. Some people would start questioning why we're suddenly walking around all of Asgard together. You may want to avoid those questions given your reputation." He explained to her. "I think you should walk around with a guard more often. It makes you look fierce, on a mission of great importance, perhaps. I'm sure it would scare off any of your-" Sif threw a hand over his mouth and shoved him into a dark alcove, carefully avoiding the vase in the middle considering it was her mother's.

He pushed away her hand and opened his mouth to speak when Sif shushed him quietly. He followed her gaze towards Fandral and Hogun talking at the end of the corridor.

"If they spot me with you, it may raise questions we want to avoid. Such as I am perfectly able to handle anything myself so why would I need an Einjhar following me around?"

Loki watched them for a moment before turning to Sif, "I have an idea to get past them and I guarrantee that you'll most assuredly hate me for it. However, it will work so trust me."

Sif looked back at them before turning to Loki, "Fine. What is it?"

Loki's magic flashed green for a moment as it changed his disguise so that the guard's helmet was gone. "Just do as I say. This will be over a lot sooner if you do so, okay?" Loki pushed Sif against the other side of the alcove and knocked the vase in the center off of its stand, causing it to crash to the ground loudly.. "Pretend to enjoy this." Loki whispered to her.

She could hear her friends approaching. They must have heard the vase and decided to investigate. Their footsteps echoed as they moved closer. Sif opened her mouth to say, "Enjoy what?" but the words never got the chance to leave her mouth as Loki's mouth covered hers, his leg moved in between hers, one of his hands moved to her waist and as the other hand became entangled in her hair.

Sif's mind completely shut down.

Loki was kissing her- actually kissing _her_ in an alcove with her friends approaching them at that very moment. Her hands moved to his chest to push him off but found that his grip on her waist was quite strong and the hand in her hair pulled her closer to him somehow given how close the two of them were already.

"Sif?" Fandral's voice broke them apart. Loki had a small smile on his face after seeing how hard Sif was blushing.

"I, uh-" Her voice squeaked as she spoke and she wanted nothing more than to punch Loki in his stupid smiling face. Loki stepped back a bit as if he could read her thoughts. "I was just-" She stuttered as if Loki's kiss had taken away her ability to speak properly. She wouldn't put it past him if he had managed to with some spell or another but she cleared her throat and said, "Could you excuse us?" She grabbed Loki's hand and dragged him away from her friends as quickly and as far away as possible.

Loki waited until he was sure enough that the two of them were alone before he changed back into his regular self. "Well, that went rather well, don't you-" His sentence was cut short by a hard punch to his stupid smiling face. He stumbled back a bit while staring at Sif incredulously. Blood began trickle from his nose and he pinched the his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"That was for your _idea_!" Sif yelled at him, turning and heading for her door at the end of the corridor.

"Was the kiss that horrible that you had to punch me?" He asked her, touching his nose gingerly.  Sif turned on her heel, her hand balled up in a fist ready to punch him again. Loki held up his hands in front of his face defensively. "I was kidding! I didn't mean it. Don't punch me again."

"If you ever have an idea like that again, I swear that you will regret it. All your ideas from this moment on have to my approval after you tell me what it is and before you do anything at all!" Sif yelled at him again. "Do you understand?"

"Of course," Loki muttered after making sure the bleeding in his nose had stopped.

"Now that everything is settled, we get back to the task at hand. Don't you even think about touching anything in my room. Everything is in its proper place." Sif commanded as she walked in the direction of her chambers.

"Your room, Princess? Why we've only just kissed. This is awfully forward of you." Loki teased her and she glared at him as he and his stupid smiling face followed her.

"Keep it up, Court Jester." The look in her eyes was a warning sign, daring him to make another jest about what he was implying. For once, he kept his mouth shut. He opened the door for her and the two of them stepped inside.

Loki's eyes wandered around the room before him. "Proper place indeed." He murmured to himself as he noticed a target painted on the back of it and the handle of a dagger sticking out of the door in the center target. Sif maneuvered through the mess in her room to grab a pack of supplies she thought would be necessary for the trip to Jotunheim.

"You don't look prepared for a trip to Jotunheim." Sif commented as she put another dagger- _well, it is Jotunheim, the Frost Giants aren't exactly friendly_ \- into her pack.

"Well, I like to keep what I need close at hand." Loki countered. "Everything I think I need is in its proper place in one of my little pocket dimensions. Plus, it gets rather tiring carrying a bag through the nine realms."

"Speaking of realms, how exactly are we getting to Jotunheim through your portals? What if we end up somewhere else like Muspelheim?"

"I've used the portal before, it will take us directly to Jotunheim. Trust me." Loki assured her.

"It's a bit difficult for me to trust you especially after your insane idea. I don't know how you expect anyone to trust you at all. As I told you before, you never do anything that helps make people want to trust you." Sif argued.

Loki stood there for a moment quiet, looking around the room and examining the mess Sif lived in. "Meet me at the gate by the entrance to the North Tower." Loki said to her before walking out the door to her chambers.

 Loki hurried to make his way to the gate near the North Tower. His stomach felt a tad queasy and paused against a wall when he felt like he almost might get sick. _What's wrong with me_? He wondered silently to himself. He had decided to help Sif in the hopes that this adventure they were to go on might actually sway her mind to become friends with him. However, he had gone and ruined any chance of potential friendship by following his insane ideas and kissing her in front of her friends. He could have done anything else and instead, he let his feelings get in the way of logic.

"Loki, are you feeling well? You look a bit pale." A voice asked him and he turned to look a Frigga.

"I think I just need some rest. It's been warm all day and I think my Heat Sickness might be acting up again, my Queen." He answered with a lie. 

"As I've suggested to you many times, you are more than welcome to use the pool to cool off." Frigga suggested to him and Loki nodded.

"I may take you up on your offer, my Queen."

"How many times have I told you to call me Frigga? It feels so formal to be called 'my Queen' or 'Queen Frigga' all the time," Frigga told him.

Loki shrugged his shoulders, "I apologize. I'm afraid that I have gotten so use to using formalities that it has become a habit. If you would excuse me, I have to go rest."

He turned to leave but Frigga placed a hand on his shoulder, "Would you mind meeting me in the gardens tomorrow afternoon? I have something that I would like to discuss with you."

"I would love to speak with you but I had a trip planned for tomorrow morning and I do not know yet when I will be back," Loki lied smoothly. "Eir has a small house that she lets me use when it starts getting unbearably hot in Asgard. She predicts that the temperature will increase some time tomorrow and will stay quite hot for a good week or two. I was going to remain there until the heat wave passes and it barely affects my Heat Sickness. If you would like, I could accompany you to wherever you are heading and we can have a small chat on the way there."

"I would love that, Loki." Frigga agreed. Loki offered his arm to her and accompanied her to her gardens. The two of them conversed about magic and the realms. Loki bid her goodnight before hurrying off back in the direction they had come in order to meet up with Sif.

Sif was tapping her foot impatiently once again when he arrived. "I apologize, Sif. Your mother stopped me on the way here. I am ready if you are." He knew she was watching him carefully. Perhaps his Heat Sickness really was affecting him. "Shall we, Princess?"


End file.
